Non Opposites Attract
by Mego ZT
Summary: They say opposites attract, but what about two people who mirror each other? After Kim and Ron set Bonnie up with Mego, can the two of them look past their own egos to build a lasting relationship or will they get in their own way?
1. Every New Beginning

He eases the brakes as he approaches the red light. In the passenger seat sits a petite redheaded girl. "I had a great time, Milton," she says, softly touching his leg. She smiles at him as the light turns to green.

"Me too," he tells her, letting up on the clutch and pressing the gas. "Hanging out with you the past few nights has been wonderful." Shifting gears, he glances at her and then back at the road. "You know, the night is still young, and there's a great mom and pop ice cream shop in the next town over. We could go grab a couple floats, if you want."

"I don't know, Milton. I'm still full," she responds. "Maybe we should just get one instead of two."

"But if we only get one," he says while sliding into third, "then we'd have to…" He stops talking upon he realizing what she is hinting at. He looks in her direction and sees she her smiling shyly. "One root beer float it is, then." He presses in the clutch and pops it into fourth gear as he passes by the sign that reads, "Now Leaving Go City."

Looking up from the papers in front of him, he hears the sound of the front door knob slowly turning. The door opens with a slight creak and Milton slips in. He shuts the door quietly. "Long date, Milty?"

Milton spins around, surprised to see his older brother sitting at the kitchen table. "Oh hey, Hermes," Milton responds, walking through the living room. "We went to Mom and Pop's Ice Cream Shop and grabbed a root beer float."

"One float for the two of you? Sounds like your date went very well," the older brother says, sitting back in his chair. "And I've told you many times not to call me Hermes."

"It was her idea to split one," Milton explains, grabbing a drink from fridge. "And I'll stop calling you Hermes when you stop calling me Milty." He plops down in the chair opposite of his brother. "Heck, I'll even settle for Mil or possibly Mel, but not Milty."

"That's because she likes you," the elder brother tells him, leaning forward and putting his clasped hands on the table. "You used to like the name Milty."

"I was _six_, Herman." Milton pops the top of his can and takes a sip. "A lot changes in two decades." He leans back and sighs. "It's a good thing she likes me," he says quietly as he turns his gaze towards the kitchen window, "because I know I'm starting to like her."

"That's great, Milton," Herman says with a smile. "I haven't seen you like this over a girl since Bonnie."

Milton crosses his arms and looks straight at his brother "Yeah well, Bonnie was…" he sighs, "_is _a great girl. It's not easy finding someone to replace her."

"Miranda is not a replacement for Bonnie," Herman replies, crossing his arms as well.

"Look, I used to date Bonnie. We broke up. Now I am dating Miranda. Sounds to me like I replaced one with the other."

"That's because you are looking at it all wrong. Relationships aren't like parts to a car. If a relationship breaks down, you don't just throw it away and plug in a new one and forget about it like you would with a transmission."

"Have you been watching Dr. Phil again?" Milton asks.

"Why?"

"Because your advice is sounding as asinine as that windbag's."

"Look, Milton, you shouldn't think of Miranda as a replacement for Bonnie. You need to move on from Bonnie and I think Miranda is just the girl to help you do that."

"Are you done yet?" Milton asks his brother.

"Yes, and stop being so cranky. You're supposed to be in a good mood after having a good date."

"I am in a good mood," the younger one says and then finishes his drink. "I just wanted to know if this crazy train had any stops coming up." He rinses out the can and puts it upside down in the dish drainer. "I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."

"Good night, bro."


	2. Comes from Some Other Beginning's

Milton flicks the light switch and closes his bedroom door behind him. Making his way towards the bed, he takes his jacket off and tosses it over the back of his chair. Plopping down on the bed, he lets out a loud sigh. He reaches into the nightstand and pulls out a pink scrapbook filled with pictures from a few summers ago.

He crosses his legs and leans his back against the headboard and begins to thumb through the book. He grabs the stereo remote and turns it on. He presses the buttons until he finds the song he is looking for.

On the very first page is a strip of four small pictures, the kind you get from the photo booths in the mall. Bonnie and him had taken them on their first date. "I don't know whether I should thank Kim or blame Kim for setting us up," he says with a half-hearted laugh.

Kim and Bonnie had known each other for years. That isn't to say they were friends. In fact, bitter rivals would be a more accurate description. They were rivals in the classroom as well as on the cheerleading squad. Kim had always managed to stay just a step ahead of Bonnie, which infuriated Bonnie to no end. Bonnie was the definition of a sore loser. People let Bonnie have her way, because most of the time it wasn't worth listening to her rant and rave.

Kim met Milton on an excursion to Go City with her best friend, Ron. Ron and Milton shared a few common interests and kept in touch occasionally. Once Kim and Ron decided to trade in their platonic relationship for a romantic one, she found herself in the presence of Milton way more than she wanted to be. She thought of him as an egomaniac who cared for himself above everyone else. She wondered if he'd ever stopped to consider someone else's point of view. She doubted it and she was not alone. Anyone who had spent five minutes with Milton knew he was shallow and self centered. It's not that he didn't care for others; he just cared for himself even more. His three brothers and his sister were very important to him, even if he wouldn't admit it.

Kim figured they would be perfect for each other, because their personalities would play off each other. At the very least, they might see themselves in each other the way everyone else saw them. Bonnie's pride would never allow Kim to set her up on a blind date, and Kim knew it. Instead, she came up with a sneaky plan of her own two weeks before senior prom.

"Remind me again why you brought me here, K?" Bonnie says impatiently while sitting across the table from Kim in the food court.

"Chill, B," Kim replies, running a brush through her red hair. "With the cheerleading competition coming up soon, I thought the captain and co-captain should have a meeting to discuss a few things."

"Fine, but you better make this quick," says Bonnie tersely, then taking a sip from her soda. "I'm supposed to hang out with Tara later this afternoon."

Meanwhile, Ron and Milton are just coming out of the arcade after sampling a few new games. "Man, I hate running out of fundage," Ron complains, showing off his empty pockets.

"We've been in there for two hours turning our brains into mush," Milton responds, finally happy to be out of that poorly lit excuse for an arcade. "I'm hungry. Let's hit the food court."

"Booyah!" exclaims Ron. "You read my mind, good buddy."

As the two friends begin walking, Ron takes a look at his watch and realizes he's twenty minutes late. _Oh man, she is going to kill me,_ he thinks to himself as he speeds up his walk.

"Hey, what's the rush?" Milton picks up his pace in order to catch up.

"Huh? What? Rush?" Ron stammers, getting flustered. "N-no rush."

"Are you okay?" Milton asks, raising an eyebrow.

Ron tugs at his collar and swallows hard, "Yeah, I'm fine. The Ronster is all cool. He's just a little hungry, that's all."

"If you say so," shrugs Milton as they turn the corner. Looking ahead he can see the back of Kim. "Isn't that your girlfriend?"

"Sure is."

"And the good looking brunette sitting with her is who?"

"That would be Bon Bon, but don't call her that or she'll start yelling at you and that's worse than most anything."

"Oh great, here comes that loser," mumbles Bonnie just loud enough for Kim to hear her.

"You might think Ron's a loser, but at least he has a hot date for the prom," Kim shoots back, defending her man. "Who are you going with again, B? Oh that's right, no one."

"Harsh much, K?" Bonnie grumbles and crosses her arms.

"Rude much, B?"

"Hello, beautiful," Ron says and gives his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. He sits down in the chair next to her. Milton sits down in the last available chair at the table which is between Kim and Bonnie.

"Gonna introduce your friend?" Kim asks, gesturing towards Milton while looking at Ron.

"Introduce me?" questions a confused Milton.

"Oh right," Ron answers. "Milton, meet Bonnie. Bonnie meet my boy Milton."

"Whatever loser," Bonnie says, flicking her hair back.

"Whatever Bon Bon," Ron retaliates and turns his attention towards Kim. Bonnie just growls at him. "Hey babe, can we talk in private for a minute?"

"Sure thing," Kim replies, standing up. "Back in five," she says to Bonnie and Milton as she takes Ron's hand and they walk away.

"Those two are either the strangest or most well adjusted couple I know," remarks Milton.

"Ron and Kim? I vote for strangest," Bonnie comments and they both laugh.

"I think we've been set up," Milton says after around ten minutes of conversation punctuated by moments of awkward silence.

"What makes you think that?" Bonnie inquires.

"For starters, they've been gone for over ten minutes. They didn't just move to a less crowded table. They disappeared completely. Not to mention Ron was acting a little strange right before we came here."

"Ron is always strange."

"I mean strange even for Ron."

"I always knew Kim was sneaky and underhanded," Bonnie exclaims, hitting her palm on the table. That has to be how she got to be captain of the cheer squad. I'm definitely way better than she is."

"I have an idea," Milton tells her, leaning forward. "Let's hang out this afternoon, and then later on when they ask us about it, we'll tell them we had a miserable time. It'll make them feel bad for pulling a stunt like this."

Bonnie gives him a funny look. "You're not too good at this payback thing are you?"

"No, not really," he tells her, leaning back in his chair.

"I'm a master at it," she informs him, grinning wickedly. "Here's what we do." She leans forward to whisper her plan in his ear.

_Well, that plan backfired on us_, he thinks to himself as he recalls the details of their first date. _We actually enjoyed each other's company and pretty soon stopped caring about Kim and Ron's little scheme._

Milton slowly flips through the book which contains pictures from every date they went on. It wasn't intentional at first, but after a few dates they noticed the pattern and made it a point to always take pictures with a digital camera. Each date would end with the two of them printing the pictures and then adding them to the scrapbook.

the last picture is of Bonnie attempting to look happy. It's the only photo that doesn't have them both in it. Underneath are the words "I'm sorry." The letters are blotchy both from her tears when she wrote it, and from his when he read it. Closing the picture book he wonders the same questions he has wondered millions of nights before. _Why did she give me this when she left me and why do I still keep it?_


	3. End

_I wonder where she is_ Milton thinks as he pulls into Bonnie's driveway, noticing her car gone. He turns off the ignition and gets out of his black Chevy. Closing the door he scans the street up and down once more to look for her vehicle. After not seeing it, he heads up to the door and knocks on it.

After a minute the door opens up and he is greeted by Bonnie's older sister Connie. "Well, well, well. I was wondering when you'd finally get here," she says mockingly.

"Can it, Connie," he replies tersely. "Where's Bonnie?" Milton had never gotten along with Bonnie's family. He didn't care for the way her two older sisters treated her, nor was he particularly fond of how their father was the same way with her. Mr. Rockwaller had always lavished attention, gifts and praise on the older siblings, Connie and Lonnie. Bonnie, however, received the opposite treatment. Nothing she did ever seemed to be good enough to please her dad, so she had long since stopped trying. The whole situation was very reminiscent of the fairy tale Cinderella, though Bonnie never had to dress in rags, but she was forced to wear her sisters' hand me downs. Connie and Lonnie always received new clothes. Anything new Bonnie owned she had to buy with her own money.

Mrs. Rockwaller was around and tried to keep things from becoming quite so bad for Bonnie, but after so many years of the constant in-fighting that went on, she stopped trying to end it. One of the things she had come to desire most in life was a little peace and quiet, something she rarely had the opportunity to enjoy. So, she tried to stay out of the fights that went on and only intervened when things began to get really ugly.

Milton, on the other hand, fought back tooth and nail with the older sisters and their dad. Someone had to stand up for her, he figured, and shouldn't it be him? After all, he was Bonnie's boyfriend. If he didn't, then who was going to? Bonnie's best friend Tara was one of the quiet and shy types.

Tara had gone over to her house one night to study for a test, but that turned out to be a very bad idea. Mr. Rockwaller interrupted the study session to chide his youngest daughter about how she should be doing so much better in school than she was despite her 3.7 GPA. Bonnie attempted to ignore it like she always did but Tara decided to stick up for her friend. This only served to draw the attention of the two older sisters who came into the room and began picking on Tara something fierce. To them, the bubbly blonde was fresh meat for them to sink their teeth into. Tara started to get visibly upset, and like a good friend, Bonnie jumped up from her chair and immediately tackled Connie. The two of them began scratching and clawing at one another and Lonnie wasted no time joining the fracas. Mrs. Rockwaller came up to see what the noise was, and upon seeing the cause of the disturbance, merely offered to take Tara home, leaving the brawling sisters to their father who stood over them yelling at Bonnie to, "knock it off because that is not how a young lady behaves!" Bonnie had never brought anyone, male or female, to the house again until midway through the past summer when Milton dropped her off one night after her car had broken down.

"Do you see her car anywhere?" Connie asked snidely. "No, you don't. She already left for college."

"Speaking of college, why aren't you and Lonnie heading back to school?" he shoots back. "Oh that's right. You two can't take care of yourselves like normal adults so you need mommy and daddy to do it."

"At least I'm not dating someone who ran off to college without officially breaking up with me," Connie says with a grin, knowing her well aimed barb hit its target.

"What are you talking about?" Milton asks, crossing his arms. He is suddenly in no mood for any of her crap.

"I'm talking about Bonnie moving to another state without even saying goodbye to her 'boyfriend'," she responds, putting air quotes around the word boyfriend.

"You're delusional, Connie. She's not even leaving for another two hours. We're supposed to meet for lunch before she heads out."

"Oh really? Then why is her room empty and why did she leave at 7 am with all of her stuff in the backseat of her car?"

"Right, like I am going to believe you."

"You don't have to. Feel free to go look in her room and see for yourself." Connie opens the door fully and moves aside.

"I think I'll do just that," he says stepping inside the door. As he makes his way up the stairs he can hear her snickering. _If only my parents hadn't raised me to not hit women _he thinks quietly.

He opens the door to Bonnie's room and discovers that Connie was actually telling the truth. The shelves where Bonnie kept her cheerleading trophies are empty as are the walls which once held her varied assortment of posters and awards. The stereo and television are both gone and her closet is completely empty. Not a single pair of high heels or tennis shoes are left on the floor. He looks over and sees her laptop is missing from the desk. In his mind he hears Bonnie's voice from the last night when she had told him about the false bottom of the drawer and that she kept their photo album hidden in there to keep it safe from her family's prying eyes. He hadn't thought much about it at the time, but now it seems odd that she would mention it to him last night when she had already told him about it when they had first started compiling it. Following his gut, he walks over to the desk and opens the bottom drawer and finds it empty. He kneels down and feels around underneath until he finds a small hole that would be big enough for Bonnie's finger but not his. He inserts his pinky and gives it a quick tug. It opens up and a small pink book falls into his hand. Standing back up, he sees a folded piece of paper sticking out of the top. He pulls it out and opens it up to see it's a letter from Bonnie to him. He notices that a part of the letter is stained, presumably a tearstain. Milton can't help but chuckle as he thinks to himself, _Get out of my head, Johnny Cash._

As he turns around he sees the evil sisters standing just outside the doorway watching him. He walks over to the door and, without a word, shuts it in their faces and quickly locks it. He sticks the desk chair under the knob for good measure. Ignoring their high-pitched whining, he sits down on the blanketless bed to read the letter.

_Dear Milton:_

_I hope you find this letter before one of my sisters or my mother do. The past five months have the most wonderful time of my life, thanks to you. I hate to think that my family is right, but it is probably best if we end things now before they get too serious. By now I'm probably over halfway to my new school. We'll be living five states and over a day's worth of driving away from each another, and I'll be here for at least 4 years. Long distance relationships rarely work out, and I couldn't bear to think I'm keeping you from being with someone who could make you happy and actually be there for you. I wanted to talk to you about this last night, but you seemed happier than I've ever seen you and I couldn't bring myself to ruining that or to have you see me cry. I want you to have this photo album. I am bringing Mego with me._

_Remember me when you're out walking_

_When snow falls high outside your door_

_Late at night when you're not sleeping_

_And moonlight falls across your floor_

_When I can't hurt you anymore_

_You'll find better love_

_Strong as it ever was_

_Deep as the river runs_

_Warm as the morning sun_

_Please remember me…_

_Love,_

_Bonnie_

Milton blinks his eyes, trying to take in what he just read. With all the things she wrote, he can only focus on how she signed it. "Love?" he whispers softly. "Neither one of us have used the L-word before." He folds the letter back up and sticks it inside the photo album. "At least she has Mego," he says referring to the stuffed bear he had won for her at the fair. "She never did understand why I picked that name. I guess she never will."

He gets up off of the bed and removes the chair from the doorknob. The annoying sound of Connie and Lonnie is still filling up the hallway. He unlocks the door and opens it up. "What's in the book?" Lonnie asks derisively. Milton doesn't answer as he pushes right past them and starts down the stairs.

"Aw, did poor Milton find out I was right about Bonnie dumping him?" Connie asks with a condescending chortle. "How sad."

He stops and turns around. "At least Bonnie can find a guy who won't dump her within two weeks because he can't stand her." He heads back down the stairs and to his car.

"Still sticking up for that little brat to the very end, I see," Lonnie comments to her sister.

"What a sad, sad man," Connie says.


	4. Family Secrets

Herman comes home from work to find his younger brother Milton sitting in the living room in the recliner. "Hey bro, what's up?"

"Just watching the tv," Milton replies, not looking up.

"Uh, the tv isn't even on."

"Yeah, well whatever," the younger brother says nonchalantly. "I don't care either way. It's not like there was anything good on."

"You haven't even turned it on to look. The remote is still sitting on top of the television set."

"It's one o'clock, so there is nothing on but stupid soap operas and dumb talk shows."

"All right, what's wrong?" Herman asks, plopping down on the couch.

"I don't want to talk about it," Milton says, crossing his arms.

"Wait, it's only one?" the elder sibling asks, looking at the clock. "What are you doing home so early? I thought you and Bonnie were planning on hanging out before she left."

"The best laid plans of mice and men…" he says with a sigh.

"Something is wrong. I can tell."

"You always were a quick one," Milton says, rolling his eyes.

"Look, I'm just concerned about my brother and what is going on between him and his girlfriend."

"Unless Will or Wes started dating someone this morning, you don't have a brother with a girlfriend," Milton says getting up and heading into the kitchen.

Herman quickly follows after him. "You and Bonnie broke up?" he asks. "I don't understand. Other than her moving, everything seemed to be great between the two of you."

"Well, apparently her moving is a bigger obstacle than I had thought it was. It was enough for her to dump me."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Milton," his brother says, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you."

"I don't want to talk about it," is the reply. "I don't want to think about it, either. I just want to pretend it never happened and move on."

"Ignoring it won't make it any less painful. It will just make it last longer instead."

He sighs in frustration. "If I tell you what happened will you leave me be?"

"If you talk about it now, I'll never bring it up again, I promise."

"Fine. I'll tell you," Milton says as the two of them sit down at the kitchen table, and he fills his older brother in.

"Where's the part where you call her?" Herman asks when the story is over. "Or are you waiting for me to let you take the jet so you can go after her?"

"I didn't call her, and I'm not going to take the jet."

"So that's it then, Milton? You're giving up without a fight?"

"Bonnie didn't put up much of a fight to keep us together, either. Why should I?" Milton looks out of the window. "I guess maybe she didn't care as much as I thought she did."

"I ought to smack you, Milton, right upside the head."

"What did I do?" he asks looking back towards his brother.

"Nothing and that's the problem. Bonnie did what she thought was right. She may have been wrong, in fact I guarantee she was wrong, but at least she did _something. _You're not doing anything but moping."

Milton goes over to the sink and pours himself a glass of water and takes a drink. "What if she's right and we're both better off this way? If I drove all the way down there I'd look like a fool."

"You're acting like one now, so why not look like one too?"

"Not helping, Herman," Milton scowls and takes another drink. "Besides, at least I won't have to tell her about this." He picks up a damp dish cloth and wipes the makeup off of the back of his hand revealing a very slight purple tint to his skin.

"You never told her about that?"

"Of course not. We only dated for five months. That's not long enough to share the family secret with her."

"Surely, she must have suspected something," the older sibling says.

"Maybe, but what was I supposed to tell her? A strange comet struck our backyard when we were kids and it gave us different superpowers and made us all different colors? Or maybe I could tell her that her boyfriend fights crime alongside his superhero brothers."

"It's the truth."

"Truth is stranger than fiction, Herman, and often less believable, especially in our case."

"I think you're making too big of a deal out of this."

"That's easy for you to say," Milton responds, his voice showing signs of annoyance. "You and the twins weren't affected the same way Shelia and I were. You three look normal. Sis and I don't. I used to be an average, run of the mill, redheaded, freckle faced white kid. Now I look like I'm straight off of Grimace's family tree. At least the makeup covers up my skin, and the contacts make my eyes blue again. I can't do anything about the purple hair though. Dying it just makes it worse."

"Life deals people different hands, and you have to do what you can with what you're given. You may not have your freckles anymore but you save lives, Milton. You fight for truth, justice and the Go City way. Doesn't that mean _something_ to you?"

"Spare me your clichés, Herman. Of course it means something to me. I'm not heartless. I wouldn't trade what we do for anything, but can you blame me for wanting to be normal?"

"I know you feel like no one in the family understands you since Shelia left the team… left the family, but Will, Wes and I know where you're coming from."

"No you don't. You can sympathize all you want, but you can't empathize. Sis and I are the only ones who can truly understand each other. I appreciate the love and support of my brothers, but please, don't insult me by pretending you know what it's like to be regarded as a freak by just about everyone you meet."

"You aren't a freak, Milton."

"Yes I am and there's nothing anyone can say to change anything. You have no idea what it's like to walk through the mall and see parents pulling their kids aside because they think I'm a trouble making punk who dyed his hair purple in some kind of act of adolescent rebellion. I'd like to be able to take the hour I spend covering myself with makeup every morning and sleep in." Milton rubs his temples before slumping against the counter. "Maybe it is best we ended now instead of delaying the inevitable. It was only a matter of time before she'd learn that I'm a freak who can shrink himself and whatever I happen to be touching and break up with me."

"You don't know she would have."

"Oh, please, Herman. If distance was enough to make her call us off, I'm pretty sure the whole purple thing would be more than enough."

The older brother shakes his head. "You are every bit as stubborn as Shelia. It's almost like you two are twins. Are you really just going to end like this?"

"Yes, yes I am," Milton answers, nodding his head. "I think Bonnie is right and it will be best in the long run."

"If you let her go like this, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

"Oh, blow it out your ear, Herman," Milton says and walks away. "I'm going to take a nap."

Herman sighs and shakes his head as his brother walks off.


	5. Moving In and On

Setting the last box down, Bonnie stands up straight and looks around her new room at the large number of boxes stacked against the wall. "That took forever," she says glancing at her watch and wiping the sweat off her brow. She goes over to the box that contains her sheets and blankets, opens it up and takes them out. _I suppose I should unpack,_ she thinks as she starts to make her bed, _but it is pretty late. I'll do it tomorrow when I get up. _Normally she would have done everything right then and there, but one thing she learned from Milton was how to be a little more relaxed and less obsessive compulsive.

Once her bed is made, she picks up her backpack from off the floor. She knew it would be late when she got in, so she kept her sleep clothes separate from the rest. Bonnie pulls an oversized T-shirt out and changes into it; tossing her clothes on the floor by the foot of the bed. Reaching back into the bag, she removes her stuffed bear. "Oh Milton, you thought I didn't know, but I did," she whispers, hugging her bedside companion. Bonnie didn't know Milton's secret at first, but a lot of little things had made her wonder about him. Of course, seeing him on the news dressed up in his superhero gear pretty much confirmed her suspicions.

Go City University had a program they called Prospective Student Visits where interested high school students came out and spent the day with an actual student. They would even sleep over in their dorm rooms on campus. The university did this to help the potential students get a real feel for what life is like on campus. Bonnie had been hoping she would get to spend the evening with her boyfriend since he lived and worked in Go City. However, their plans came to an abrupt end when he called her up an hour before he was supposed to pick her up. "Hey, Babe, I'm sorry but something's come up and I might not be able to stop by tonight."

"Something with your brothers again?" she asks.

"Yeah," he answers apologetically.

"All right," she says slightly annoyed. "Call me when you get a chance."

"I will if it's not too late."

"No, Milton," she tells him sternly. "I don't care if it's three a.m. when you get in. Call me."

"Okay, Bonnie, I will."

"Thank you," she sighs. "Oh, and Milton?"

"Yeah, Babe?"

"Be careful," she says as she hangs up the phone and fell backwards on the bed.

"Boyfriend skip out on you?" asks Melissa, the student who was sharing her dorm with Bonnie.

Bonnie just shrugs. "He's a busy guy," she explains in his defense.

"Uh huh," Melissa says. "Sounds like he cancels a lot."

"No, not really, though sometimes he needs to call it a night earlier than planned."

"Right, because of his 'brothers'?" Melissa asks.

"Are you implying that he might be cheating on me with another girl?" Bonnie shoots back.

"Not at all," Melissa answers. "But it does seem suspicious."

"No it doesn't."

"Oh really? How doesn't it?"

"Maybe if he were just canceling dates I could see your point, but it wouldn't make sense for him to cut out early on our dates to go see another woman."

"It's called 'juggling', Bonnie."

**"**As if," Bonnie responds with an eye roll. "Milton is not a good liar and I trust him. It's not like he could do better than me, you know."

"Whatever. Just be careful. Some guys are good guys, and some guys are snakes posing as good guys."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Bonnie dismisses her comment with a wave of her hand and reaches for the TV remote. "Let's get off the subject of my love life and see what's on."

As the image comes on the television, they see a reporter standing in front of the Bueno Nacho restaurant. "… are surrounding the building. A man by the name of Avarius has taken several hostages and is demanding that Team Go show up."

"Team Go?" Bonnie inquires.

"It's a group of four superheroes that protects Go City," Melissa responds. "They're all brothers, though they used to have a sister named Shego on the team. Last I heard she left them and became a villain. Probably just rumor. You know how the media likes to make stuff up."

"Ungh, it's true," Bonnie informs her. "Possible fights her all the time. She works for some freak named Drakken, I think."

"You know Kim Possible?"

"Unfortunately, I know her and her loser boyfriend."

"That's pretty cool!"

"Yeah, no it isn't. Possible is always…"

"Oh look, they've arrived," Melissa interrupts.

Bonnie looks back toward the screen and her jaw drops. She sees a muscle bound guy wearing blue and black, a tall skinny guy with purple hair wearing purple and black, and two redheaded teenagers wearing red and black. All of them were wearing masks. "That's… that's…"

"That's Team Go. The buff dude in blue is Hego. The skinny purple one is Mego and the other two are twins. They go by Wego."

"I don't believe this," Bonnie says in astonishment as she reaches for her cell phone and punches in Tara's number.

After a few rings, Bonnie's best friend picks up. "Hey Bonnie," says the cheery voice of the blonde. "What's up?"

"Tara, quick! Turn on the news!" Bonnie orders her excitedly.

"Okay, okay. What's going on?" she asks as she obediently flips on the TV.

"Just do it, Tara. You'll see."

"It's on Bonnie. What am I supposed to be looking… Wait, that looks like Milton."

Bonnie looks over at Melissa and puts her hand over the phone. "I'll be back in a sec." She gets up off the bed and heads outside.

"It looks like you were right," Tara says to her friend.

"I know. I can't believe it!" Bonnie is unable to contain her excitement. "I'm dating a superhero! I cannot wait to tell everyone back at Middleton High. Brick is going to go nuts with jealousy."

"Maybe that's not a good idea, Bonnie," Tara says calmly.

"As if," Bonnie replies. "This will most def solidify my spot at the top of the food chain."

Even though Bonnie can't see her, Tara instinctively rolls her eyes. "I'm sure he has a reason for not mentioning it to you."

"Hm, you're right," Bonnie responds, her annoyance starting to catch up with her glee. "I'll be sure to ask him why he doesn't trust me enough to be honest with me."

"Do you think you could tone down the selfishness a bit just this once?"

"Excuse me?" Bonnie replies tersely, getting miffed with Tara.

"Out of one corner of your mouth you're complaining because Milton doesn't trust you to keep his secret, while you talk about how you're going to tell everyone about it from the other corner. Does that really make sense to you?"

A minute of silence passes before Bonnie answers her by asking, "Are you calling me a hypocrite, Tara?" Her annoyance shifts from Milton to Tara.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie," Tara apologizes. "I didn't mean to call you that, but if you do tell everyone, and then yell at Milton like I know you are planning on doing, then you would become one. You aren't one now."

Bonnie opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out as she starts to realize her blonde friend is right. Her emotions continue to run the gamut and currently settle on frustration. "But why would he keep something like this a secret? Most guys wouldn't be able to quit bragging about being a superhero if they were one."

"I know I've only been out on a handful of double dates with you two, but Milton seems very much different than most guys, Bonnie. He's the first person that _I've_ met who thinks he's better than everyone else, yet surprisingly unselfish."

"You did it again, Tara!" Bonnie exclaims.

"Did what?" asks the confused blonde.

"You just insulted me. Indirectly, but still..."

"How?"

"You implied I was selfish."

Tara pauses a moment before saying in a timid voice, "Bonnie…"

"Tara, don't."

"You are… selfish."

"And you're being rude," Bonnie retorts angrily.

"No, I'm being honest. You find out your boyfriend spends his days risking his life to help others, and are you amazed by it? No. Did you stop to think of the danger he puts himself in? No, you didn't. The only thing you could think of is how it affects _you_ and then you got mad at him for not telling you. If that's not the definition of selfish, then I need to pay better attention in English class."

Bonnie just slumps against the wall of the dorm building. Even though she knows Tara is right, her nature wants to argue but it would be pointless. Any defense she might come up with would just further prove Tara's point. Instead, she lets out a loud sigh and says, "I can't believe you just said that, Tara."

"I… I'm sorry, Bonnie," Tara stammers. "I wasn't trying to be mean."

"I know…"

"You seem to really like Milton and I don't want to see you ruin it by doing something so… so stupid."

Bonnie smirks. "It's good to see you with a backbone, Tara. I always knew you had it in you. I just never expected you to use it on me."

Tara laughs slightly, relieved and a bit surprised that her best friend isn't mad at her. "So what are you going to do?" she inquires.

"I don't know," Bonnie answers.

"You only have two options, you know. You either keep it between you and me and let him tell you when he's ready, or you don't."

"Let me guess, your advice is to just keep quiet?"

"You know it," Tara replies. "Like I said before, I'm sure that he has good reason for keeping it a secret."

"Such as?"

Tara thinks for a minute before responding. "Maybe he wanted you to like him for him, not for what he does?"

"And I do," Bonnie answers. "Can't he tell that by now?"

"Do you really, Bonnie?"

"Of course, I do."

"Even though he's purple?"

"What are you ta… Oh my goodness, Tara, you're right. My boyfriend is purple! What would people think if they found out I was dating someone purple!?"

"See, you're freaking out. He probably figured you would which is why he was scared to say anything."

"Can you blame me?"

"Yes, and no," Tara replies. "Purple _is_ a unique skin color, but that's all it is. It doesn't change who he is on the inside."

"Well, no but…"

"But nothing, Bonnie. You've suspected Milton of being Mego for a while now, so you had to suspect he was purple. It didn't chase you away then, so you shouldn't let it chase you away now."

"That's easy for you to say, Tara. You're on the outside looking in."

Tara sighs. "Bonnie, it's late and my mom needs to use the phone. You can either accept Milton for who is and continuing dating him or you can be shallow and dump him."

Bonnie laughs. "For someone who had a crush on that loser Stoppable, you seem to know quite a bit about relationships. I'm impressed."

"Thanks Bonnie," Tara says, blushing. "I have to go now. My mom is tapping her foot impatiently."

"Bye Tara."

"Bye, Bonnie. Remember, don't say anything. Let him come to you."

"I will."

When Bonnie returns to the dorm room, she finds Melissa cross-legged on the bed hugging the pillow. "That Hego is soooo cute," she says dreamily. "Couldn't you just eat him up?"

"I'm quite partial to purple," Bonnie says with a grin as she sits down in the chair.

"Mego?" Melissa asks, shocked at Bonnie choice. "But he's so skinny and gangly. He's like a palm tree with arms and all he can do is shrink. Totally worthless."

"Hego's no better," Bonnie bristles. "Super strength is so cliché."

Bonnie pulls the comforter over her as Michigan nights can get to be very cold. She chuckles to herself as she recalls how she argued for hours with Melissa about who the better superhero was; Mego or Hego. She snuggles up to her stuffed bear, letting the soft fuzzy face brush her cheek and whispers, "Goodnight, Milton." Closing her eyes, she falls asleep almost instantly.


	6. Chapter 6

The twins are sitting at the table eating lunch when Herman walks into the kitchen. "Have either of you two seen your brother?"

"Yeah, he's in the living room…" Wes begins.

"…reading the newspaper," Will finishes. The twins almost always finish each other's sentences, much to the chagrin of whomever they happen to be conversing with.

"Fudgepops!" Herman exclaims. "I was hoping to get to it before he did. There's a blurb in there about Bonnie marrying some guy named Brick Flagg."

"You know Milton. He only…"

"… reads the sports and the comics."

"I suppose you guys are right," Herman sighs and sits down.

"Are you _serious_?" all three hear Milton yelling. "This is a load of bull! How could she do something like this? What was she thinking? Nngh!"

"Sounds like he just found it," Herman says when the tirade dies down.

"I don't think he's taking…"

"… the news quite so well."

"I better go talk to him," the eldest brother says, getting up and walking out of the kitchen. As he enters the living room, he sees his younger brother sitting in the middle of the couch mumbling and shaking his head. "You shouldn't be so hard on Bonnie, bro."

"Huh?" Milton questions him, folding the paper down and looking befuddled.

"I heard you yelling about a woman, so I assumed you'd read about Bonnie."

"No, I was complaining about Patricia Kearney."

"Who?"

"The Go City University Lady Tigers basketball coach," Milton explains, handing the sports section to his brother, pointing to a picture of a woman with short, wavy blonde hair. "She coached the team to within a win of the conference championship last season." Herman sits back and says nothing. Everyone knows that when Milton starts ranting about sports, it's best to just sit and let him rant. Interrupting him just drags it out. "After the season ended, she said she couldn't wait for the upcoming season because she believed the Lady Tigers could go all the way. As soon as some other university throws a little extra money her way, BAM! she disappears faster than Electronique at pool party. So much for loyalty. She just taught all those girls that it really _is _all about the money." Milton continues to ramble for several minutes more.

"I'm glad that's all you're upset about," Herman says getting up from his chair, wanting to get out before Milton asks about Bonnie.

"Herman, wait," Milton says, putting the paper down. The elder brother stops and sits back down, knowing what his little brother's question will be. "What were you going to say about Bonnie?"

"Hand me the local section of today's paper, please," Herman sighs. He takes it from his brother and turns to the page containing the engagement and wedding announcements. Handing the paper back, he points to the picture of Bonnie and Brick. The room is completely silent while Milton reads.

"So, Mr. and Mrs. Brick Flagg, huh?" he casually remarks.

"Milton, Bonnie is a beautiful young woman. We all knew that one day would become Bonnie's wedding day. Even you knew."

"I know," Milton remarks, his turn to sigh. "But, it's like tax day. You know it's coming, but you hope against hope that it doesn't."

"Are you saying you didn't want Bonnie to ever get married?"

"No," Milton answers, "but like you said, I knew she'd be marry someday. I had hoped it would be into this family."

"But she didn't. You waited for her to come back to you for three years."

"I would've waited thirty years, if I had to."

"Waiting isn't a viable option anymore. If you loved her so much, why didn't you go to her at least once these past few years?"

"I thought she just needed some space." Milton shrugs. "If you love someone, set them free and all that jazz."

"And if they don't come back, then it wasn't meant to be," Herman finishes the adage.

"Harsh, bro."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but it's the only way to get through to you; just like with Shelia. I swear, you and her are more alike than any twins. You're both sarcastic, stubborn, and…"

"Hey," Milton interrupts. "We're talking about me here. Let's leave Sis out of this for now."

"Okay, so let's talk about you. Are you going to stand strong like you do in battle, or do you plan to continue moping like you've done ever since Bonnie went off to college?"

"I think I'll mope for another week or two and then move on. Who knows, I may even ask out that waitress from the diner. You know, the one that you are always telling me you keep catching looking my way."

Herman sits there perplexed. "You're scheduling a specific time to get over Bonnie?"

"Well, I can't not be upset about recent events," Milton explains. "But I also can't live my life dwelling on what might have been. Isn't that what you've been trying to tell me all along?"

Herman shakes his head and smiles. "I don't think I'll ever understand the logic you and Shelia operate under."

"Good," Milton smiles back. "That's part of our charm. We always did get a kick out of confusing you."

"Don't I know it," Herman says, recalling a few fond memories of younger days.

"I think I'm gonna go take the Chevy for a drive," Milton says, standing up.

"Sounds good, bro. It's nice to see you taking this better than I expected you to."

"You know me, Herman," Milton winks and grabs his keys off of the coffee table. "Like a rock."


	7. Chapter 7

Milton pulls his pickup into the empty parking lot of the small shopping plaza in the suburbs. The plaza consists of several small stores, including a jewelry store on one end. On the other end is a bowling alley. Right next to that is small pizzeria. Many a date between Milton and Bonnie were spent in this strip. They'd walk by the jewelry store and Bonnie would fantasize about Milton surprising her with a pair of turquoise earrings, to bring out her eyes or even a diamond necklace to make the other girls jealous. Meanwhile, Milton would dream about being able to afford cubic zirconium, let alone real gems.

They would walk over to the bowling alley where Bonnie would fume as her boyfriend would soundly trounce her game after game. He knew he should throw a game every now and then, but he had a fierce competitive nature that didn't lend very well to losing on purpose. Then there was also the threat of violence she gave him the one time he tried. Milton was fairly certain it was impossible for Bonnie to do with a bowling pin what she threatened to do, but why take that chance? The maddest he'd ever seen her that night was when he did try to lose on purpose, and he did _not_ want to see that again.

After bowling, they'd share a pepperoni pie. If she was particularly miffed about losing by a lot, she would order extra garlic and onions. Milton quickly learned to keep the scores close because he had grown rather fond of her goodnight kisses.

He looks towards the jewelry store and recalls the time Bonnie pointed out that certain engagement rings were on sale. She hadn't really been hinting at anything; she just liked watching him squirm as he tried to change the subject. A flashlight dancing around behind the counter in the back of the store brings him back to the present. _Oh goody. A chance to relieve some stress,_ he thinks climbing out of the cab. Instead of his usual crime fighting garb, he is dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts. Unfortunately for the prowler, Milton's apathy kicks in and he stealthily approaches the store.

Shrinking down, he walks under the front door. "Freeze, dirt bag!" he hollers out as he returns to normal size. The burglar quickly turns in Milton's direction and shines the light in his eyes. Milton quickly shields his eyes. "Turn that thing off!"

"I don't know who you are, but I don't care," says a slightly elderly voice. Milton hears him dash out the back and quickly gives pursuit. He arrives outside just in time to see an old man clad in red run up the fire escape.

Milton pulls himself up onto the roof and sees Aviarius standing near the ledge with his back turned. "Don't even think about escaping, old man!"

Aviarius turns around, his mouth open to speak, but a confused look spreads across his face. "Who are you?"

"You don't recognize me?"

"No, should I?"

_I guess that's the good thing about being senile,_ the hero thinks. _You get to meet new people every day._ "I'm Mego. You know, from Team Go. I've personally thwarted you on several occasions."

"Ah yes, the purpey shrinkly one!" Aviarius exclaims.

"Purpey… shrinkly… one?"

"You know what I meant," the old man hisses.

"Yes," Mego nods and smirks. "Yes, I did."

Aviarius glares at Mego. "You're just as mouthy as Shego, you know that?" A smirk comes across his wrinkled face as he says smugly, "By the way, how is your big sister doing? Still hating the lot of you?"

Mego glares back at the birdman. "Don't even. I'm having a bad day and you just stopped cheering me up."

"Hardly my job."

"Whatever, old man. Just do yourself a favor and give up."

"That would be doing _you_ a favor, not me."

"It's a win-win, really. I won't have to waste my energy on you and you can get started on serving your prison sentence faster."

"I think not!" the villain retorts pulling what appears to be an egg out.

"I swear if you throw that at me and get yolk on my brand new shirt, I will hit you so hard in the mouth you _won't_ be able to fix-o-dent and forget it."

"It's no ordinary egg, my angsty foe," Aviarius explains. "Once cracked, it releases an hallucinogenic gas causing you to cluck around like a chicken while I make my escape." The sound of an approaching helicopter can be heard. "Ah, there's my lift now. Ten minutes late, but one can't expect punctuality from you young people these days."

"An assistant, Aviarius? I thought you preferred to work alone."

"I do, but this one is home grown, so to speak." As the chopper gets closer a rope ladder can be seen dangling down. "As much as I've enjoyed our little banter, I must be going." He tosses the egg at Mego's feet. "Farewell, hero! Till we meet again!" He grabs a hold of the ladder and begins to climb up.

In one quick motion, Mego scoops the egg up before it hits the ground and tosses it at the escaping villain. "Not today old timer." The egg hits Aviarius square in the chest, exploding into a cloud of yellow smoke, causing him to lose his grip. When he falls, he doesn't land on the roof. Instead he plummets down the side of the building, his arms flapping and clucking like a chicken.

Mego rushes to the ledge just in time to see and hear the sickening thud of a human body being introduced to concrete from three stories up. "Oh no," Mego mouths and looks up at the helicopter. He sees the pilot glaring at him menacingly before flying off, his face oddly familiar.


End file.
